What brought you to the USA?
I was not planning to come to the US for my PhD when I started looking for places in my first year of the PDBEB program. I guess what really brought me here was the potential challenge that the lab I was joining had for me. Miguel Ramalho-Santos had just moved to UCSF as a fellow and he was starting his own lab. I felt a great chemistry for his science and his drive, and the idea of starting something from scratch was really appealing to me. There is a big risk involved in joining a lab that is just starting, but I followed my instinct and I was really lucky that Miguel was a great mentor. When I first decided to come, I had never been to the US before, not even to visit the lab.

In what are you currently working on?
I am working with Embryonic Stem (ES) cells in mouse, mostly focused on the epigenetic regulation of the undifferentiated state of ES cells, and the relation between chromatin state and pluripotency (the capacity that ES cells have to differentiate into all cell types of the body).

What conditions do you have here that you do not have in Portugal?
I think the advantages are mostly cultural. In academia here, you feel that your work can be rewarded. There are a lot of opportunities to try something new, either simply with your scientific experiments, or even with your career. There is a great sense for open discussion, a particular energy to innovate, and I feel people are treated equally, regardless if they are a Noble prize winner or a technician. There is no “Senhor Doutor” this, “Senhor Professor” that… There is respect, but based on your dedication. I do think this makes a big difference. Of course because of the country size and economic power, there are many more opportunities. But it is mostly cultural. Portugal is a small village, and it is hard to break through. On the other hand, because it is small, I also think it has a better scale for change and a lot of potential. I feel that from the past 20 years a lot of skilled professionals and creative people have emigrated from Portugal, and some of those people will soon eventually come back with their new energized spirit and introduce a different outlook on innovative thinking in Portugal. It is a small paradox, too small of a country but maybe small enough.

What are your future plans?
My short-term plans are to finish my PhD in the summer, take 6 months off and then come back to business (as they say here). I will be doing a postdoc in Toronto, Canada. I am trying to fill these 6 months doing something totally different for me. Maybe some film making. I am trying to establish some links between my interest in science and society. I think this new era of audiovisual and global technology has a lot of potential, and I would like to be involved in that. But that is maybe more of a long-term plan.

Why did you join PAPS?
I am not a very active member, but I think networking is always good for reaching out and can provide a perfect means for discussion, just like this one I am having with my computer right now, while writing this interview. Sharing ideas in a community with lots of things in common can be very productive, and fun.